get their way, it will be the united congressional districts of america. it's the latest mickey mouse gimmick to win elections without having to win with the most number of votes. rebel all of those cuts and the effort to make it harder for people to vote, all of that targeting to vote in ways that people don't like voting? well, now they're trying something new. they don't like states like pennsylvania that regularly vote democratic. so some kwauk thougquack thaugo to give the rural votes more power. their decided to kill the power of how the real state goes overall. if they can't get people to vote for them, they try to kill the power of those who don't. will they get away with it? not if you stay tuned and keep an eye on these little buggers. they've got their mickey mouse

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ears on. "politics nation" with al sharpton starts right now. >> thanks, chris. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, president obama won. this president has no time to waste and he's using it to push for change on gun control, on immigration, on climate change, on ending the ban on women serving in combat. he's got a full agenda. and it was on full display today. remember all of that bluster from governor romney about undoing wall street reform, letting consumers fend for themselves? yeah, not going to happen. today, the president nominated hits to both the sec and the consumer protection bureau. the message? we're moving forward. anyone guess where we'll be if

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the other side were in charge? >> what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him to do that: he can't do that to himself. >> that chair, that chair was the sill bomb of everything wrong with the gop. an embarrassment on the biggest stage. the gop literally became a joke. wonder where that chair is today? here it is, the clint eastwood chair. it's been given a place of honor in the rnc chairman's office. is this unbelievable? wouldn't they want to destroy that chair? they just don't get it. this week, the rnc is laying out its plan for a republican renewal meaning they're going to reknew exactly what they're already doing. rnc chair reinus priebus says,

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"our principles are sound. they just need to articulate them in ways that are modern. just modernize talk of legitimate rape. that's the ticket. and mr. priebus is looking for feedback. so he's posted a survey on gop.com, aimed at getting to the root of the problem. think of all the diverse opinions they'll get on gop.com. maybe even congressman paul ryan will fill out one for him. here's his reason why he and romney lost the white house. >> i think it's closer than you think. there's the big debate that revolves, you know, they really did a phenomenal job on technology and turn out. i don't see this as a rejection of our principles. i think we need to do a better job of applying our principles to the problems of the day. >> no, no way it was a rejection of principles. this is carl rove level of denial here.

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so republicans, take a seat. i know where you can find one and watch who's moving america forward while you sit down. just like he did today. joining me now is joan walsh, editor at large at "salon.com," msnbc analyst. and dana milbank, editor for "washington post." dana, let me go to you first. weren't president obama's nominations today a perfect example of how elections have consequences? >> well, sitting where i'm sitting, not in the clint eastwood chair, i would say yes, it certainly does. it's a case of continuing a very tough policy of enforcement at the sec. so the president is sending a signal that at least in this area of regulation enforcement,

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he's not going to be backing down at all. surely, that's exactly what wall street and corporate america expected when he won that election. >> and that was the way he campaigned. in many ways, we're looking at, joan, him continuing the path that he campaign ds oed on, gots on and won. look at the poll on rights for gay people, 60%. on aid to the poor, 59%, on tax levels for millionaires and big corporation, 59%. women's issue, 55%. immigration, 55%. i mean, these are high numbers of people feeling the gop is out of touch on these issues. >> yeah, i mean, reverend al, the shocking thing is, as you just laid out, the support for democratic policies is even h h higher than support for democratic politicians. the president won a decisive

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victory, but the support for the issues and policies is going to push is even higher. so the republicans are delusional to be saying that the issue is just a matter of reaching out or modernizing technology and that their principles are sound. it's their principles and policies that were rejected by the voters and that continues. and you're right, too, to point to that symbolism of that awful chair. i mean, that was the worst moment of a terrible convention. >> in the chair of the gop's office. what could you be thinking about? >> right, a cranky old man lecturing our first african american president in prime time in tampa helped take the party down. but while mr. priebus is saying we're going to modernize, we're going to change our message, we're going to reach out, we're going to change, he's enshrining that symbol of the demographic reality of why his party lost. >> dana, the only reason i would have that chair is the election of what people ought not to do

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and i don't know how he does that without alienating those that thought something was right about that. but listen to me, dana, tell me what this means. bobby jindle, the governor of louisiana, who has set many to say run in the gop primaries in 2016, he is set to slam the gop at an rnc gathering tontd. we're told that he's supposed to slam them on akin and mourdock comments. we had a number of republicans damage the brand this year with offensive and bizarre comments c. the first step is in getting voters to like you is to demonstrate that you like them. what is the politics of the attack? and what is -- is this an opening for there to be a new

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direction among some republicans? >> well, a lot of that has to do with 2016 politics. but there really is a rift here in the republican par fi. and that is there's all of these successful republican governors in the country and then there's this wildly unpopular republican party in washington. the politics should not be this green eye shade debate about how many zeros in the federal budget. it should actually be about real people which is what these republican governors have been able to do, taking much more moderate, reasonable conditions. as if paul ryan is saying i'm going to have the federal budget balanced in ten years instead of his original 25 years. he's literally going to have to cut the government by 20%, more in some areas, over the next ten years. they just can't seem to get themselves oit of this debate. and where you stand on this depends on where you sit and the folks in washington are still

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sitting in clint eastwood's chair. >> but, joan, when you look at the fact that they keep going from one to another crazy theory, i mean, rush limbaugh came up with a new theory on president obama today. take a listen. >> 2016, waiting to happen. that is -- that is if obama decides to abdegait. obama may not give up the crown, just like queen elizabeth. >> obama may not give up the crown, like all of the sudden he's not going to leave aufgs. and to think that these are the people setting the tone. they're already talking about 2016. we're not even out of the week of the inauguration. duh, we did just re-elect the president who is going to be the president the next three or four years. are they trying to fast forward us so we will forget about the midterm and forget about making sure that promises made are promised kept with the

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re-election of the president? >> well, it's shocking. you know, they've gone from saying that he wasn't a legitimate -- the birthers said he wasn't born here and he shouldn't be president. and, now, you've got them calling him a tyrant on guns. and rush limbaugh suggested that he might not give up power, which really does validate the worst impulses of the republican power. you know what you do to tyrants. you rise up against them. dana is right. some of the republican governors are a little bit more real igsic. he tried to cut hospice funding for poor people in louisiana. now, backtrack yesterday. bobby jindal talks nice about people, but i guess he doesn't single out minorities for his programs. he singles out everybody. everybody can suffer without having hospice care when they're dying. so i'm not sure that a whole lot to emulate coming out of louisiana, either. >> no, i think he's going to have a problem when they go to

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louisiana. let me ask you this, dana, many of us were concerned about the filibuster. it's been used for years to stop things. it certainly hurt the president's ability to get things done. and today, the senate agreed on some limits to the filibuster, though it falls short -- far short in my opinion, of what a lot of progress i haves wanted. how do you view this? >> well, it's a dangerous thing to play with the filibuster, of course, in a future time, you could wind up when it's actually the democrats and the minority and the same rules could be used against them. the fact of the matter is this particular minority is going to be able to use a wide range of tools to keep things bottled up. and, in a sense, it doesn't even matter because the house is not going to let any of the president's policies get through that way, as well. so there are so many fail safe mechanisms to prevent anything from happening in this government right now that i'm

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not sure there's any one reform that would do it. >> but, joan, at least getting to the speaking filibuster, i mean, stopping this call in to just bottle things up, wouldn't that have been important? >> i think so. i'm disappointed. i think it was a missed opportunity. day is right. we've got the problems in the house. but this was a chance to fix the problems in the senate and, you know, i think it was a missed opportunity. >> two against one, dana, you lose. joan walsh and dana millbank, thanks for your time this evening. >> thank you, reverend al. >> up next, a big next step on gun safety with huge support from the american people. that spells trouble for the nra. plus, the republican plan to steal elections, peeling back the curtain on the right wing voting scam. and then, i'll finally weigh in on this beyonce thing. i have a few things to say about it. you won't want to miss it. we have a big show lined up. come on back.

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have you joined the "politics nation" conversation on facebook yet? we hope you will. our fans had a lot of fun imagining what secretary clinton was thinking during yesterday's hearing. dona says bring it. david says next time you gentlemen want to get schooled, i'll be in my office. and vince says rand paul would

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have fired me if he had been president? well, i guess we don't have to worry about that ever happening, do we? we've got some more on the attacks against clinton and what's driving her later in the show. we want to hear what you think, too. please head over to facebook and search politics nation and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ]

finestein surrounded by police officers, mayors and crime victims, reintroduced an assault weapons ban on capitol hill. >> we should be outraged by how easy it is for perpetrators of these horiffic crimes to obtain powerful, military-style weapons. no weapon is taken from anyone. the purpose is to dry up the supply of these weapons over time. >> the new bill would ban the sale, transfer, import, all man ewe factture of more than 100 million military assault-type weapons. it would ban imports from outside the country and it would limit magazines to ten rounds or less. the bill is just part of a larger push from the white house. today, vice president biden was keeping the pressure on with an online appearance to spread the word. this is a real plan for real

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change. the american people support it. a broad coalition is pushing forward. and the extremists who oppose it are out of step with the times. joining me now is congresswoman diane daget, democratic from colorado, whose district includes columbine. she's the co-sponsor of a house bill targeting high-capacity magazines. and sister samone campbell. she's part of a group of 64 catholic leaders who signed a letter calling on politicians who consider themselves pro-life to support new gun safety measures. thank you for your time tonight. >> great to be with you. >> congresswoman, this assault weapons ban is just part of an overall push for safety. but do you think it has the support to become law with the make-up of this new congress?

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>> well, rev, i've been working on these issues now for about 20 years. and we have a good coalition in the house. we've already reintroduced the magazine and we're getting ready to introduce the companion bill to senator finestein's bill. what we really need, though, is the voices of the american people to be heard. you can not underestimate the lobbying power of the nra in congress. and even my office, even though people know that i am a strong advocate for gun safety legislation, i get calls every day from nra members. and so what really needs to happen to change this debate in washingt washington, in congress, is the moms and dads, the aunts and uncles and husbands and wives of america need to call their members of congress and they need to tell them that they support this ban on the assault rifles and the ban on the assault magazines. >> well, let me tell you why,

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congresswoman, i think that that is extremely a feasible strategy of getting people to call it a people movement from the bottom up. look at these startling numbers that polls show us. 91% want universal background checks for all guns. 82% want increased spending on mental health programs for young people. and fully 60% want a re-instatement of the assault weapons ban. these are not close figures. i mean, 91, 82, you're talking about the overwhelming majority of the american people are with these proposals. >> so what they need to do, what those overwhelming majorities need to do is make their voices heard. we have many members of congress, mostly republicans, but some democrats, too, who are afraid of the nra's campaign contributions and of their

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influencing campaigns. i'm not afraid of them, obviously. but i think that if people would hear from their constituents, that would really help us pass this legislation. i do think public opinion has shifted. i think the tone and the debate have shifted. it's been enormously helpful having the president and the vice president there in our corner. now we need to get the voices of americans calling their members of congress. >> well, helping to get the voice of america, i don't know of anyone better in these times of sister samone. sister samone, your organization cam mapaigns for health care, immigration reform, campaign. why is gun control a part of your mission? >> well, we realized, reverend, that gun control is really a critical issue to move forward. actually, it's the gun violence that got us. the violence comes from the same place as all of these other fear-driven policies. this idea that we don't have

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enough money to care for each other. this idea that we have to just take care of ourselves that i need guns to protect my family. the fact is, we're better as a community. if we speak out against gun violence, that we're speaking out against the fear that has paralyzed our nation. and, hopefully, as congresswoman clearly spells out that we've got to free our voices to speak up for what our communities need. and that is safety by limited access to these horrible weapons that we do not need. >> now, you -- your letter to leaders said pro-life citizens and elected officials have a responsibility to show greater moral leadership and political courage when it comes to con fropting threats to the sank cty of life. very interesting that you called it pro-life. pro-life is usually not used in

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this context. >> well, i know the argument in our nation has really become pro-birth when you say pro-life. the fact is that our church has taught for decades, over a century, that pro-life is this broad away of everything that supports the sanctity of leaf. and certainly, when you look at sandyhook elementary school and the 20 young children that were gunned down, that was an anti-life action that we need to end. and the fact that since sandyhook, over 900 people have died because of gun violence? this is wrong. our nation is better than this. and a pro-life stance would embrace a responsible approach to gun ownership. now we feel firmly, a lot of us, that what happened in sandyhook became a game change in the sense of the public. but congresswoman, over 1,221

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people have been killed since the newtown shooting. so we need legislation. we really need to move from the rhetoric to the real concrete. >> right, you know, rev, we need to figure out if our mental health programs are working in this country. we need to look at the background checks and the gun show loopholes. but we also really do need to pass legislation. for example, if you pass the legislation on the assault magazines saying we can't have these magazines with 30 or a hundred clips, then the victims would have a fighting chance to get away from the shooter or, like in gabby gifford's case, they can attack him and prevent him from shooting other people. the thing is, these bills have been around for years. now it's time to pass them. that's exactly right. >> i'm going to have to leave it

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there, congresswoman and sister simone. thank you for your time and good luck to both of you in your efforts. >> thank you. >> ahead from glen beck to senator rand paul. we're following the evolution of a conspiracy theory. and revealing the republican plan to steal elections is happening right now in america. stay with us: in america today we're running out of a vital resource we need

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in the middle of all of those vile attacks on secretary clinton in her benghazi harings, there was one question that left a lot of people confused. it came from the tea party republican senator rand paul. >> is the u.s. involved with any procuring of weapons, buying, selling, anyhow transferring weapons to turkey out of libya. >> to turkey? i will have to take that question for the record. nobody's ever raised that with me.

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weapons to turkey? what? secretary clinton clearly had no clue what he was talking about. but, senator paul was so proud of his cooky question, that he went on fox news to brag about it. >> i think arms are being sold out of libya to turkey. i have no briefing of this, but there have been articles in news print and in the press. >> no proof. no information. no problem. who is paranoid enough to come up with something so out landish? who could it be? folks, there's only one man for the job. >> over 400 tons of weapons. >> they put it on a ship. he uses ambassador stevens as the point man with this guy. and they funnel through turkey

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the weapons to the jihadists on the border. >> of course, now it all makes sense. from glen beck's chalk board to the united states senate. beck started pushing these theories back in october claiming that president obama was funneling weapons from libya to jihadists in syria. from there, it jumped to fox news and then the gop senate. that's exactly how they move to the mainstream. senator paul, did you think we'd let you get away with all of that turkey talk? nice try, but we gotchya. every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. ok. [ voice of dennis ] silence. are you in good hands? ♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love,

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pushing to rig the electoral college to help republicans win. even if they lose the popular vote. under the current system, if the candidate wins the popular vote in the state, he's awarded all the state's electoral votes. under the republican plan, the winning cabinet wouldn't take all. instead, electoral votes would be awarded according to the congressional districts. so why would republicans be doing this? here's why. in virginia, barack obama won the popular vote so he got all the e lek torlt votes. under the gop grab, he would get 4 electoral votes. romney would get nine. in florida, president obama won the popular vote, so he took all 29 electoral votes. with the new scheme, he would win 12. romney would take 17 electoral

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votes. in michigan, president obama won. so he took all 16 electoral votes. but with this scam, he gets 7. romney gets 9. over to ohio. president obama won all 18 e lek tort voels. now he gets six. romney gets 12. in pennsylvania, president obama received 20 electoral votes. but under the gop plan here, electoral votes would be awarded proportionately based on the popular vote. so that number shrinks to 12. governor romney would get 8. trying to win elections when you win fewer votes. that's just wrong. joining me now is democrat from ohio and new chairman -- chairperson of the congressional black caucus and former pennsylvania governor ed

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rendell, now an nbc news analyst. thank you both for being here tonight. >> my pleasure. >> thank you so much for having me. >> congresswoman, this is a blatant grab. can democrats fight this? >> there's no question that we can. and we will fight it, reverend. just this week, democrats led by john lewis dropped the bill if in the house. it's called the voter empowerment act. it is designed to stop some of these deceptive prak fiss. we are not going to sit by and allow them to steal elections just because they can't win fair and square. now, governor, you've seen this up close in pennsylvania. the ramifications of this is to really undo the whole democratic process that has been used since we started with the electoral college. >> there's no question, reverend sharpton.

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it would have disastrous and unfair consequences. for example, in pennsylvania, go back to the 2008 election. barack obama carried this state by 11 points, almost a historic landslide. but senator mccain would have gotten 10 to president obama's 11 at the time. >> i think we all should be aware that states have the right to proportion their votes in any way they want. in nebraska, they already do this. it would be hard to be back -- i will tell you this. we're going to fight it tooth and nail in pennsylvania. thai treed they tried to do it before the last election and we beat it back because we scared the local republicans into thinking that there would be savage repercussions from voters around the state. and i think there would. if we're going do do this, play

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these games, than the popular vote district, that's a law which says that the states pass a law that they'll give their entire electoral votes to whoever wins. that movement is gaining steam. as soon as states with 271 electoral votes sign on, the popular vote controls who wins the election in america, as i believe it should. >> now, madame chair lady, the american prospect reports on what the bill sponsors in virginia said.

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so the goal is to win elections with less votes. >> reverend, let me just say to you that the republican party has determined that because of the change in demographics in this country, more and more young people, more and more minorities moving to urban areas, that they can no longer win the white house. so they are doing everything in their power to make sure that they have an unlevel playing field. these people are teaching them how to cheat. they have determined the only way that they can win the president si is to cheet. so nay want to make it clear to us that they want to win at all costs. so let's figure out a way.

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they're going to do everything possible to make sure that what happened in 2012 will never happen again. >> governor, when you look at this, what i just read in virginia, you're talking about empty land space will out vote human beings. and it's supported. it's something that a lot of states that are consistently blue, that are fully controlled red ought to be looking at. this is outrageous. if it's so fair, why don't they split it by congressional votes in texas? the answer is because they win all of the congressional votes now. if they split it by districts, democrats would pick up eight, nine, ten. it's interested they're only interested in giving this fairness to the voters in

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president shl blue states. it's an interesting kwens dent, isn't it? >> it's called selective democracy. >> madame chair lady, governor, thank you boet for being here tonight. >> thank you so much for having me. >> coming up, the mud slingers are back at it. new ugly attacks on hillary clinton that are crossing the line. and then, beyonce and what really matters. stay with us. ♪

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plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day women's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for women's health concerns as we age. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day 50+. the old attacks on hillary clinton are back. i wonder why? that's next.

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right now, as we've been talking about, it's focused on big issues. jobs, guns, immigration. but some republicans aren't

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thinking about that. they think 2016 has already begun. how can you tell? just watch how they went after hillary. >> i would have relieved you of your post. i think it's inexcusable. >> that was stunning. that was really stunning. >> this is the lance armstrong principle of when you're in trouble, yell at the person asking you a question. >> if there is one politician in the country who should be advertising teflon, it's hillary clinton. >> every powerful democrat man depends on hillary clinton going out and lying. >> the democrat party treats mrs. clinton like an abused wife. >> an abused wife? lance armstrong? and here's the headline in the conservative "new york post." no wonder bill's afraid. hillary explodes with rage at benghazi hearing. republicans are back to one of their favorite hobbies.

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clinton bashing. it was all the rage back to the '90s when they felt threatened by first lady clinton. now they feel threatened again. instead of helping to solve the problems of today, republicans are running around scared about something that may or may not happen tomorrow. joining me now, toure, co-host of "the cycle" here on msnbc. and contributor for "the daily beast," thank you both for being here tonight. >> thank you. >> thanks. >> patricia, what has the hibernating republican hatred of hillary clinton? >> the time you start looking at the next election is when you have the other one right behind you. the question is what's hillary going to do? who is going to be the democratic nominee. when you look at hillary

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clinton's popularity, i think republicans have every reason to be worried. this woman has a 69% approval rating and that is including everything that's happened with benghazi. the only controversy she has had to deal with with secretary of state. otherwise, she has had an incredible run running that department where people can routinely get themselves in a whole lot of trouble. republicans knew this was going to be their last chance to really be able to get a swipe at her until she goes off the public stage and think about what she's going do in the future and she's going to be an incredibly formidable candidate. and they know that. i think we saw it with the results that happened yesterday at that hearing. >> when you look at the national review ripping senator clinton's testimony apart, they wrote indifference is just one of the opposing secretary clinton

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struck joining it as it turns with strained revisionism and professed ignorance. deflection was also mrs. clinton's perfect 10. >> she testified for over 5 1/2 hours yesterday. indifferent? 5 1/2 hours? >> yeah, she doesn put a lot of energy into 5 1/2 hours of testimony. when she actually said what everybody on the democratic side of these would like to say, it doesn't really matter. you're still focusing on sunday morning talk show talking points. rather than who killed these people and what they can do to protect our people in the field going forward. we don't really want to know who said what. it doesn't matter will these people had a protest or whether they just decided let's kill some americans. so she said the exact right thing. >> what matters is to find out

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how to get it done. >> exactly. and i think part of her indifference is, well, her frustration is part of the problem is congressional republicans refusing to fund the security of these embassies and these consulates. so she's totally right. everything patricia said is right. they see that she is the leading democrat in the country. they have to get as much mud on her as fast as possible. >> it's also a back board shot because if they can muddy her up and use her as a back board and score muddying up and smearing president obama's state department and then try to get two-for-one on people they have an intense dislike for. and when you look at her favorable ratings, as you've referred to, favorable, 67%, unfavorable, 28%. that is a huge number. and who do they have on the bench that could be formidable.

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>> that's the thing. chris christie has become so popular because he's not afraid of taking swipes. when he came out and said it was republicans blocking sandy aide people, finally, there was a man who said things straight. he has an approach that is very attractive. it may not be attractive to gop primary voters and i think they'll have another chance to have this internal debate, really, a civil war within themselves. are they going to put somebody forward who is popular with the greater population or only popular with the gop base. >> i think there were concerns. i think hillary clinton had an

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investigation. she took full responsibility of both of those hearings. when you then see the republican congressman said what does responsibility mean to you? why won't you take responsibility? she says i did. >> sisn't that the problem, toure? the primaries, if the far right continues to guide the tone of the primary, a winnable republican can't win the nomination. isn't that the real problem? >> no, that's absolutely right. the far right will continue to guide the gop primary. until we do something like australia where everybody votes then the extremes will guide what the primaries do. they're going to ask those crazy questions about are you going to kill babies when they're in the womb.

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you know, they're going to do all of these sorts of crazy things. are you willing to kill people on death penalty -- on death row. all of these crazy things that they did in the last one and it's going to create candidates that are unpaletteble for most of the nation. the success of a woman would be damaging to them and the success of a clinton would be damaging to her. >> i'll tell you, patricia, when you look at the fact that favorability ratings break down by party, 91% favorable among democrats. 65 among independents. 37% among republicans. that's higher than some republicans. they have reason to be afraid. but i also say i went to public schools, but i can count: and 14 comes before 16. let's not forget the midterm election. let's not move so faes.

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>> thanks for your time tonight. and be sure to catch toure on "the cycle" weekdays at 3:00 p.m. eastern time. >> we'll be right back with beyonce, the national anthem and what really is important. stay with us. ♪ it's a new day.

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if your a man with low testosterone, you should know that axiron is here. the only underarm treatment for low t. that's right, the one you apply to the underarm. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs.

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common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. see your doctor, and for a 30-day free trial, go to axiron.com.

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but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth! this week, we saw history in the making. the second inauguration of president obama on martin luther king day. the president laid out such a strong progressive vision for the country. civil rights. women's rights. voter rights. gay rights. but some have been trying to say beyonce's performance was the